Barcelona held by Hajduk

An unfamiliar Barcelona team travelled to Croatia for their first pre-season encounter against Hajduk Split on Saturday.

Spain international David Villa was one of just two players involved who started Barcelona’s last game, a 3-1 Champions League final victory over Manchester United on May 29.

He went close early on with a long-range effort at the Poljud Stadium, in a match to celebrate the centenary of the Croatian club.

Dutch forward Ibrahim Afellay’s shot was then well saved by Danijel Subasic in the Hajduk goal.

Despite the dominance of the La Liga champions, the hosts did have some chances in the first half.

Victor Valdes, the other player to start the Champions League final, stopped Marin Tomasov when the winger burst through on goal after 25 minutes.

And Tomasov should have scored six minutes later when a cross fizzed in front of him, but he failed to connect.

Masahiko Inoha then had another shot saved by Valdes on 41 minutes.

Barcelona pushed for the opener in the second half, with Jeffren watching his effort go the wrong side of the post.

Isaac Cuenca had an attempt from the other flank on the hour mark but saw his shot fizz wide.

Both sides were limited to long-range shots for much of match.

The pick of them came from Dinko Trebotic, who almost gave his side the win on 74 minutes with a strike from outside the box.

But with no breakthrough arriving, the encounter finished 0-0, much to the delight of the home side.